Tangled Vines
by SheynaLew
Summary: On an overgrown and uninhabited planet, Daniel goes missing. (More summary to be added with more chapters!) I'm still deciding where to take this one. All I know so far are the events of Chapter 1. There is potential for some light Sam/Jack and possibly Daniel/Janet, but the main focus is telling a nice long, SG-1 story.
1. Chapter 1

Summary:

On an overgrown and uninhabited planet, Daniel goes missing. (More summary to be added with more chapters!)

Notes:

I'm still deciding where to take this one. All I know so far are the events of Chapter 1. There is potential for some light Sam/Jack and possibly Daniel/Janet, but the main focus is telling a nice long, SG-1 story.

* * *

Sam stepped through the gate, the SGC disappearing behind her and a world green with trees appearing in front. The area looked wild and overgrown. Vines were wrapped around the base of the D.H.D. and weeds poked up through the steps leading down from the gate, cracking the stones. She gazed, with awe, at the determination of nature to overcome the influence of man. Or in this case, she supposed, it was the influence of the Goa'uld or the Ancients. Climbing carefully down the steps she moved towards the M.A.L.P., followed by Daniel. The Colonel and Teal'c had gone slightly further ahead, hands on their weapons and a cautious glance around the area for potential threats. The readings from the M.A.L.P hadn't shown any signs of life or recent activity in the immediate area, but that wouldn't stop either of them from making sure.

Sam checked out the M.A.L.P. and determined that it hadn't been broken by it's bumpy trip through the gate. They had sent it through ahead of their scheduled mission to P5A-637, but the odd angle of the gate and the broken steps had propelled it violently towards the ground below. It hadn't overturned, but Sam had been concerned that the equipment on it had been damaged. To her relief, it seemed fine. Her focus turned to Daniel, who was pottering around to the side of her, pushing foliage away from a pile of stones they had seen over the video feed, prior to their embarkation.

"Find anything interesting?" She asked.

"Well, I was right; there's writing on these." He indicated the larger stones. "But I don't recognise the letters, let alone the language."

"They look like they were placed there, not like they've been knocked over from part of a larger structure or anything." She looked at him quizzically.

"You're right. They've been layered. And I couldn't see from the video, but look, there's another one, further back in the forest." He moved aside a low-hanging branch to show her a second pile, constructed in the same way as the first; larger stones at the bottom, gradually getting smaller towards the top. Each stone was covered in the same symbols. "Jack." Daniel called, and Jack approached the two to join their inspection of the strange rocks. "There are more of these that way."

Jack glanced over to where Daniel was pointing. "I suppose that's as good a direction as any to start exploring."

He had a point, Daniel thought. The wilderness around the Stargate was all encompassing. There were no paths, no clear sign that one direction or another might be the right way to go.

"Teal'c." Jack gestured for the Jaffa to join them. "Looks like we're going this way."

Teal'c nodded and the team set off, with much scrambling over the tangle of branches and leaves, towards the next pile of stones.

Closer to, they were clearly larger than the last structure. But Daniel confirmed that the writing appeared to be the same. He took photos, and SG-1 looked around for more piles of rocks.

"Here!" Sam called. There were more through a thick bush of nettles. "Careful, Sir. I think they sting."

Jack smirked and waved her off, pushing his way through the plant with his P90.

The next pile of stones was bigger again, and Daniel began to suspect they were some kind of mile-marker. "I think these are cairns." He exclaimed excitedly.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow at him.

"What?" Asked Jack.

"A cairn." Daniel repeated. "They're mile-markers, or landmarks. I think these may have been markers to show a path."

"A path to what?"

"Well, I don't know, Jack. But if we follow them I'm sure we'll find out." He tried to keep the patronising tone out of his voice, but it was difficult when Jack asked such ridiculous questions.

"Hmm. Follow the mysterious rocks. This is sure to end well..." Jack didn't even try to mask his sarcasm. "Right, let's follow the yellow-brick road kids."

* * *

The third set of stones led to a fourth, and then a fifth, but whatever path they had once sat alongside had long since disappeared beneath the wilderness. At points, SG-1 had to resort to cutting through the plant-life with their knives, careful to do minimal damage, but faced with no other option against the wall of greenery in front of them. After the fifth cairn, however, the foliage seemed to thin a little, and the sixth pile of rocks was easier to spot.

Jack stowed his knife away and strode forwards. "There's a clearing over here." He called back to his team.

The others joined him and Sam noticed the perfect circle left bare ahead of them. "I wonder what's caused the plant-life not to grow into the circle." She mused.

"It has not ceased growing Major Carter." Teal'c pointed out. "The edges of these plants have been burned or sliced away." He touched the leaves of the nearest tree and Sam saw that he was correct. Some of them had been sliced clean in half.

"Everyone keep an eye out for trouble." Called Jack, instantly alert.

"Jack, there's a path over there. Leading away from the clearing." And before Jack could stop him, Daniel had stepped into the space to investigate the path beyond.

"Daniel, what did I just say?" Jack called out.

He had barely finished speaking when the dirt around the clearing flew up and a ring transporter whisked Daniel from their sight.

"For crying out loud!" Jack exclaimed, raising his P90 and grabbing his radio. "Daniel."

Only static came back in reply.

"Daniel, respond."

Again, nothing.

"Dammit, Daniel. Where are you?" When he received no reply the third time, Jack turned to his remaining team. "Teal'c head round the clearing that way," he indicated to the left with his gun, "Carter, with me over here. Keep an eye out for anyone, or any weird techno-stuff, that might show where he's gone. No one, I repeat, no one, step into that clearing."

Teal'c began negotiating his way anti-clockwise around the circle the ring transporter had left, light-footed and nimble. He had reached the other side and the path before Jack and Sam. As they joined him he looked directly at Jack. "There is nothing to suggest where Daniel Jackson may have gone, O'Neill."

"Nothing on the other side either, Teal'c." Said Sam.

"Carter, head back to the gate." Jack ordered. "Let General Hammond know we've lost Daniel. Ask for SG-3 to come back with you to help in the search. Teal'c, you and I are gonna have a look down this...path." He indicated the gap in the greenery in front of them. Path had been a generous description. It was overgrown, like the rest of the planet they'd seen so far, but someone seemed to have trampled there way through it. Recently too, thought Jack, or more of it would have grown back.

"Yes sir." Sam obeyed, and turned to head back around the circular clearing.

"It is highly unlikely he is still on the planet, O'Neill." Teal'c spoke firmly, but gently. "There may be a ship in orbit."

"Probably." Jack replied. "But until Carter and SG-3 get back, we're gonna at least look down here." He took point, his hand still firmly on his weapon, not raised, but alert in case he needed to use it. He tried the radio again. "Daniel?" Nothing, but then he wasn't expecting any response.

Jack and Teal'c trudged on in silence, eyes flickering to either side of the path, hoping to spot something other than trees and vines. They had been making steady progress for about half an hour when the ground began to tilt upwards. There was no sign that the plant-life was thinning as the climbed the hill, but, Jack thought, perhaps when they reached the top they would have a better view of what the planet had to offer besides trees.

* * *

Sam reached the gate after scrambling through the overgrown foliage. Her arms were covered in scratches and stings from the plants she had forced her way through. She'd moved as quickly as she could, determined to get back to the SGC so she could return to the planet with back-up and join the search for Daniel. Behind her worry, she felt a twinge of agitation that he hadn't listened to the Colonel. His excitement at exploring a new planet had clearly overtaken his common sense. She wondered, briefly, if he would still be on the planet somewhere, or if he was on a ship in orbit. He hadn't replied to the Colonel's radio calls; a flicker of dread ran through her as she considered the possibility that he was hurt, or worse. If he'd replied, they'd have stepped into the ring transporter and been right behind him, but his silence meant the Colonel had to be cautious about their next move. They'd be of no use to him if they got themselves captured or killed.

Brushing aside the thoughts of what may have happened to Daniel, Sam dialled the DHD and once the event horizon had settled into a shimmering puddle, sent through her iris code. She took the broken steps two at a time, forgetting to brace herself for what would invariably be a rough landing, given the tilted angle of the 'gate on this planet. As she came through the wormhole she stumbled and tripped down the ramp. She steadied herself and looked up to the control room, seeking out the concerned eyes of General Hammond.

"Major Carter?" He called over the tannoy. "Briefing room."

She swept her way across the Gate Room and up the stairs, meeting the General at the head of the briefing room table.

"What's going on Major? Where are the rest of SG-1?"

Steeling herself slightly, she launched into her de-brief. "And Colonel O'Neill ordered me back here, Sir." She finished. "Request permission to take SG-3 back to the planet to join the search for Daniel."

Hammond had remained silent throughout her recount, listening, taking in every detail. Finally he allowed himself to weigh up the facts and come to a decision. Thankfully, the one Sam was hoping for. "I'll have SG-3 gear up and join SG-1. I'm giving you twelve hours to search, Major. I want a sit-rep once that time is up and we'll re-assess."

"Thank you, Sir."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Notes**

Apologies that it's taken a while to upload Chapter 2! I've approached this fic quite differently to others I've written (in that I'm kind of free-styling it a bit; I have very little in the way of a plan!) so I had to wait for ideas to arrive in my head. Thank you for reading Chapter 1, and I hope you enjoy Chapter 2. There WILL be more to come soon.

* * *

Daniel blinked. The blurriness cleared from his eyes a little, but the near-darkness didn't brighten. He groaned and rolled over onto his stomach, pushing himself up onto his hands and knees and closing his eyes tight again as the room swam in front of him. He regained his balance and sat up, shuffling backwards until he felt the wall, firm against his back. As his head cleared a little he opened his eyes and tried to think back, working out how he had gotten here, wherever here was.

He remembered being on the planet with Jack, Sam and Teal'c. He remembered following the cairns to a clearing in the middle of a forest. He shut his eyes again, pulled his glasses from his face and rubbed his forehead, trying to figure out what had happened next. The rings. He'd stepped into the clearing and the rings had swept him away. He vaguely remembered arriving on a Goa'uld Tel'tak before he'd been hit by what was unmistakably a zat'nik'tel. He focused on that memory and tried to conjure up the face of the person who'd zatted him. Nothing. Not a blurry face on a body, not a rough idea; but nothing. He forced himself to think harder, ignoring the worsening headache. The zat shot had come from in front of him, but he was sure he hadn't seen anyone actually shoot him. Whoever it was must have been cloaked, he deduced, and he immediately thought of Nirrti. He swallowed a bitter sense of anger and hatred at the thought of her, but knowing she was dead helped calm him. If not Nirrti, though, then who had shot him?

With no clue to reveal his attacker's identity, Daniel decided his best option was to try to get back to the rest of SG-1. First things first though, damage assessment. And then work out where the hell he was and how to get back to the clearing.

Aside from the headache, nothing else seemed to hurt. His limbs were all still attached, and seemingly working. Nothing was bleeding. Just the zat-induced anvil pounding on his skull then. He was beginning to adjust to the low light and the room he seemed to be in must have been the cargo hold at the back of the ship. Ship, he thought. Well that could make getting back to the forest a little problematic. He could fly it, of course, but first he'd need to overcome the invisible assailant with, he realised, no weapons. Fantastic. Actually, first he'd need to leave the cargo hold, and as much as he would have liked to play his part as the eternal optimist he was pretty certain he wasn't free to simply roam around. Worth investigating though.

He pushed himself off the floor, and whilst his headache was receding, his vision swam at the sudden movement and he reached out a hand to steady himself. The room stopped spinning and he stepped towards the doors, pressed the controls and cursed in a way that would have made Jack O'Neill proud. So, he was locked in. Predictable. And without Sam he stood next to no chance of hacking the controls and taking his captor by surprise. Time to resort to a course of action he was far better equipped to handle anyway; diplomacy.

He bashed

He bashed a few more times. "Hello!"

Silence.

Right, well that was fine. He could deal with someone who was attempting to ignore him. He'd worked with Jack for years. The best method for coping with someone blanking him was to make himself a nuisance. This time he bashed against the door repeatedly and didn't let up.

After several minutes, when his arms were starting to tire, he heard someone moving outside the door and immediately stepped to the side, wary of being zatted again.

"Would you kindly _stop_ that!" A male voice demanded as the door slid to the side.

Daniel threw himself to the floor, and pulled his captor's legs from under him as the electric blue light of the zat whizzed over-head.

* * *

"We're heading back to the 'gate, Carter. Stay put." Jack's said.

"Yes sir." Sam turned her focus back from the radio to the controls for the UAV. She'd spotted what were presumably the Colonel and Teal'c's heat signatures and plenty of the planet's native wildlife, but nothing else in the vicinity of the Stargate seemed to be humanoid, and certainly wasn't Daniel. She widened the circle the probe was currently making around the 'gate, and hoped.

"Major, I'm assuming the clearing with the ring transporter was that way?" Colonel Reynolds pulled her attention briefly away from the UAV and pointed towards the path SG-1 had cleared through the forest.

"Yes sir. We headed maybe one click through the trees, following the rock formations Daniel had found. The trees thinned out, and we came across the clearing; the rings."

"But you didn't see or hear anyone else around when Daniel was taken?"

"No sir." Sam didn't question Reynolds on his choice of the word 'taken'. After giving it some thought it was the only scenario which made sense. None of them had touched anything, like the handprint on a tree Cassie had used to activate the rings to Nirrti's lab. It was far more likely that someone else had been with them. "We were sure we were alone. Colonel O'Neill had us keeping a close watch for anything unusual."

"Is it possible whoever might have activated the rings was wearing a cloaking device?"

"It's likely. We've certainly seen it before."

"Hmm." Reynolds nodded. "We'll stick by the 'gate til Jack and Teal'c get back, but we can still be of use here. Peterson, Bosco, Baker; check the area for signs of activity other than SG-1." The rest of SG-3 nodded and spread out through the area around the gate. "Major," Reynolds turned back to Sam, "Let me know if you get any hint of Dr Jackson from the UAV."

"Yes sir."

* * *

"Reynolds." Jack greeted the leader of SG-3 with a solemn nod before looking at Carter, a hint of expectant hope in his eyes. "Anything, Carter?"

Sam shook her head. "No, sir. And to be honest, I doubt he's on the planet at all."

Jack pursed his lips. "Reynolds, has your team found anything?"

"Actually Colonel, Bosco thinks he may have." Reynolds and Bosco strode over towards them.

"Whatcha got Captain?"

Fibres, sir." Bosco held his hand up to Jack. Pinched between his thumb and forefinger were some strands of black thread. "Definitely not SGC material; it's too silky. And Major Carter said you guys weren't round the other side of the 'gate where I found these."

"Ok." Jack looked disappointed that they'd found nothing more than a bit of fabric. "Well, it's a start. Reynolds, have SG-3 conduct a search of the area. Teal'c and I have already done a recon of the area North of the rings. Take the UAV, do a more extensive search."

"Sure, Jack. What about SG-1?"

"We're heading back to the SGC. See if we can't get a bit of intel from the Tok'ra about this planet."


End file.
